Institutionalising Blockchain Intelligence for Public Authority Leadership
OBIS: Establishing Institutional Blockchain Intelligence Standards
The Open Blockchain Intelligence Standards (OBIS) initiative represents a strategic step toward institutionalising blockchain intelligence as a recognised and reliable capability within supervisory, investigative and fiscal authorities.Across these forums, regulators, supervisors, law enforcement leaders and international organisations identified a shared structural challenge:
- Blockchain intelligence is increasingly relied upon by public authorities, yet no harmonised, interoperable framework exists to ensure methodological consistency, evidentiary robustness or cross-border institutional confidence.
- OBIS addresses this gap by developing an open, multi-jurisdictional standardisation framework designed to elevate blockchain intelligence into trusted public-sector infrastructure.
OBIS was initiated following two key global convenings:
- The Blockchain Intelligence Forum (Bucharest, April 2025), and
- The Europol, Basel Institute on Governance & UNODC Conference on Criminal Finances and Cryptoassets (Vienna, September 2025).
The objective is to ensure that blockchain intelligence is treated not as a fragmented analytical toolset, but as a structured and institutionally reliable discipline.
Strategic Objectives
-
01
Harmonised Analytical Foundations
• Common taxonomies and intelligence classifications
• Standardised methodological approaches
• Consistent interpretation of blockchain-derived data -
02
Interoperability and Data Integrity
• Structured data exchange protocols
• Forensic metadata standards
• Documented provenance and chain-of-custody frameworks -
03
Judicial and Supervisory Reliability
• Validation methodologies aligned with recognised forensic disciplines
• Standards supporting evidentiary admissibility
• Supervisory confidence in analytical outputs -
04
Professional Governance
• Defined competency frameworks
• Accreditation pathways
• Ethical and procedural guardrails
We are inviting interested stakeholders, from government, business, technology, and the regulated sectors,
European OBIS Consultation Series
Following Luxembourg, structured high-level roundtables will refine how blockchain intelligence standards embed within European supervisory, investigative and fiscal architectures.
Each roundtable will convene 20–30 senior representatives under Chatham House Rule.
Luxembourg 2026: Foundational Workshop
The Foundational Workshop will include:
- Presentation of a Proof of Concept demonstrating blockchain intelligence standards
- Introduction of the structured OBIS governance and development framework
- Launch of domain-specific working streams
Luxembourg marks the shift from expert dialogue during the previous conference in Vienna, in September 2025, to coordinated institutional deployment and pilot planning in 2026 & 2027.
Frankfurt Roundtable - Supervisory Reliance on Blockchain Intelligence
Frankfurt will focus on supervisory integration of blockchain intelligence within financial oversight frameworks.
Particularly relevant for:
- The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)
- The European Central Bank (ECB)
Discussion themes:
- Harmonised analytical approaches to risk identification
- Supervisory reliance on blockchain-derived intelligence
- Cross-border coordination supported by shared standards
- Efficient allocation of supervisory resources through methodological consistency
The objective is to reinforce blockchain intelligence as a recognised supervisory capability.
The ambition is to strengthen institutional confidence in blockchain-derived evidence across jurisdictions.
Vienna Roundtable - Forensic Reliability and Law Enforcement Cooperation
Vienna will focus on elevating blockchain intelligence to the level of recognised forensic infrastructure.
Relevant stakeholders include:
- Europol
- INTERPOL
- National police and specialised financial crime units
Key areas:
- Chain-of-custody and provenance standards
- Forensic validation methodologies
- Interoperable evidentiary formats
- Standards supporting joint investigations and judicial processes
Paris Roundtable - European Regulatory Coordination and Market Supervision
Paris will examine how blockchain intelligence standards support regulatory coherence and integrated market oversight.
Relevant for:
- The European Banking Authority (EBA)
- The European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA)
Key themes:
- Consistent analytical outputs informing regulatory decisions
- Comparable indicators across financial sectors
- Supervisory convergence enabled by shared intelligence standards
Paris will position blockchain intelligence as a stabilising component of regulatory coordination.
The objective is to enhance institutional capacity for interpreting and utilising blockchain-derived intelligence in cross-border fiscal matters.
Warsaw Roundtable - Fiscal Transparency and Tax Authority Integration
Warsaw will focus on blockchain intelligence standards within fiscal enforcement and tax administration contexts.
Discussion areas:
- Evidentiary robustness for tax investigations
- Interoperable reporting standards
- Harmonised fiscal risk assessment methodologies
Toward the Global Launch: Blockchain Intelligence Forum 2027
Participation
The OBIS consultation process convenes senior representatives from:
- Financial regulators and supervisory authorities
- Financial Intelligence Units
- Law enforcement agencies
- National tax administrations
- International organisations and standard-setting bodies
- Blockchain intelligence providers
- Crypto-asset service providers
- Financial institutions and compliance leaders
- Forensic, legal and scientific experts
Participation is by invitation only, to ensure strategic depth, balanced representation and actionable institutional outcomes.